What is chiropractic?
A method of health care focused on the relationship between the spine and the nervous system, without drugs or surgery.
Chiropractic is recognised by the World Health Organization. The World Federation of Chiropractic defines it as a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of those disorders on the nervous system and general health.
In practice: working by hand on the spine and other joints to restore movement and position.
The nervous system
The spine houses the spinal cord, through which communication passes between the brain and the rest of the body.
When one or more vertebrae lose alignment or movement, that communication can be interfered with. In chiropractic this is called a vertebral subluxation.
What a vertebral subluxation is
A vertebra that has lost its correct position, or that is not moving as it should.
It does not always hurt. It can be present for a long time before producing symptoms, which is why the first-visit examination looks for them even where there is no complaint.
Moving normally
Movement restricted
- Vertebra
- Disc
- Nerve root
What an adjustment is
A precise, controlled movement — usually by hand, sometimes with purpose-made instruments — applied to a specific joint.
The aim is to restore movement, position and function to that joint. It does not always make a sound, and when it does it does not hurt: that is gas filling the partial vacuum created as the joint surfaces separate slightly.
Chiropractic in Spain
Unlike Sweden, the United States or the United Kingdom, the profession in Spain is not yet regulated by law and the title is not protected.
Formal chiropractic training is five to six years of full-time university study. It is worth checking.
